


Holding On My Heart

by MiniNephthys



Category: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children, 大海原と大海原 | Oounabara to Wadanohara | Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2014-07-12
Packaged: 2018-02-08 14:01:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1943862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNephthys/pseuds/MiniNephthys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ver is recruited to escort the demon princess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Holding On My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Never allow me to crossover ship. It's a problem.

Ver is just wrapping up her story about Wadanohara’s sea, the Tosatsu Kingdom, and the Sea of Death (it’s easily the most interesting job she’s taken) when she notices someone in the crowd of bar patrons listening to her and falters mid-word.

“Go on. It’s a good story,” says Princess Mirai. Ver knows her appearance from pictures around the kingdom, but has never seen her in person before this. Pictures don’t nearly do justice to the shine of her red hair and her sparkling green eyes and oh crap Ver has to answer her and stop staring.

“Y...yes, your highness.” Ver clears her throat, trying to settle herself enough to give the rest of the story. There’s thankfully not much left to it, so she doesn’t have to push herself to talk with her heart pounding.

When she’s done, Mirai moves to the front of the crowd: the other demons step out of the way without being asked. “The Sea Kingdom, right? I’d like to go there sometime soon. Since you have experience with the locals, would you three-” here indicating Laurentia and Vendetto, next to her- “mind being my escorts?”

Ver swallows and swallows again, unable to form any sound.

Laurentia comes to her rescue. “Of course not, your highness! I’m sure Ver would love the chance to visit again, and serving you is an honor~”

“That’s good.” Mirai smiles more brightly, sending Ver’s stomach into knots. “I’ll have somebody inform you when I have a date for the trip.”

“We’ll be ready,” says Vendetto. “Count on it.”

“Thank you. I’d better get going now.” Mirai slips out the door, and for a moment the bar is quiet.

“...Laurentia, what did you just get me into?” Ver asks, as the power of speech returns to her.

“Hm? You couldn’t say no to the princess,” says Laurentia. “Besides, with the way you were staring- owww, don’t pull my cheeks-!”

“Shut up!”

* * *

Travel to Wadanohara’s sea takes a while, and requires a boat. The royal family’s private vessel is fairly compact considering who owns it, and needs only a small crew to operate it.

Besides Vendetto, Laurentia, and Ver, Mirai is being accompanied only by her familiar, Veil. Veil’s not bad, from what Ver’s seen of him: sort of grumpy and overprotective, and way too pink for anything Ver would want to wear, but she knows better than to make fun of that. Any familiar of the princess is to be reckoned with.

It’s a long trip to their destination, and Ver is lounging around a well-furnished cabin with Vendetto and Laurentia.

“We could play poker,” says Vendetto, lying back on one of the beds.

“We don’t have any chips,” says Ver, from the other bed.

He frowns. “Strip poker?”

“Not on her highness’s ship.” She’s played with these two before, so she doesn’t exactly mind the game itself, but this is not the appropriate place and time.

Laurentia hums from the floor. “Maybe truth or dare?”

There’s a knock at the door before Ver can answer her. “Can I come in?” calls Mirai’s voice.

“Y-yeah, sure!” Ver hurries to open the door, ignoring Laurentia’s giggles.

Mirai steps inside, unaccompanied. “I heard you were bored.”

“It’s a pretty long trip,” says Vendetto, sitting up. “What about you?”

“I’m bored too. So bored.” Mirai takes a seat next on the bed Ver was sitting at. “Can I join you for whatever you decide?”

“Sure,” says Ver, trying to choose whether to return to her former seat. She decides against it and joins Laurentia on the floor. “Do you like truth or dare?”

“That’s fine with me,” Mirai says. “Can I go first?”

General agreement. Mirai doesn’t pick Ver first, so she’s able to try to calm the beating of her heart for a moment while Vendetto is dared to sing a famous love song (written from a girl’s point of view) and Laurentia gets asked what her worst quality is (forgetfulness).

She has never once in her life met someone who made her as flustered as the princess. Maybe it’s the aura of command Mirai gives off even when she’s being friendly, or maybe it’s her beauty, or maybe it’s something else completely, but Ver isn’t sure she’s going to survive this trip without a heart attack.

“Princess, truth or dare?” says Laurentia.

“Truth,” Mirai replies, swinging her legs.

“Aside from yourself, who do you think is the cutest person on this ship?” Laurentia asks.

Ver freezes. So does Mirai, who has a moment’s hesitation before saying, “Ver.”

…

Right. There’s that heart attack, right now.

Laurentia giggles again. “I see, I see~ It’s your turn.”

Nothing else in the game is quite as bad as that, not even whatever dares the rest can come up with for her.

“I should be getting to bed soon,” says Mirai, getting up. “Thank you, it was fun.”

“Anytime,” says Vendetto.

“We’re glad you enjoyed yourself, your highness,” says Ver.

“‘Mirai’ is fine,” Mirai says. “Just in private, though, Veil might have a fit.”

“...M-Mirai.” Ver swallows. “Have a good night?”

“Thanks, Ver. You too.” Mirai steps out the door and shuts it behind her, and the sounds of her footsteps grow quieter until they are silent.

Only when she is sure that Mirai is out of earshot does Ver bury her face in her hands and say, “Why. Why me. Why this.”

“She likes you too, you know,” says Laurentia, patting her on the shoulder.

Ver lifts her face to glare at her. “She does not!”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure she does.” Vendetto swings his feet back onto the bed. “She called you cute, she told you you could use her name, she kept looking at you when you weren’t looking at her…”

“She was?” Ver blinks. “Really?”

“Yeah, you just didn’t notice ‘cause you were zoning out,” he says with a snort.

“I think you should just tell her how you feel,” says Laurentia.

“No. Not a chance,” says Ver. “She’s the princess and she’s way, way, way out of my league. I’ll just get this trip over with and then we won’t ever see each other again and I’ll get over this stupid crush.”

Laurentia sighs. “Well, if you insist.”

* * *

“Your princess seems nice,” Wadanohara says. She and Ver have pulled off to another room of the castle. Mirai will be fine with Veil protecting her, especially considering that when they left she was animatedly talking to Uomi about how pretty her sea was.

“She’s really nice.” Ver rubs the back of her head. “I haven’t known her personally for too long, but she’s always been a good ruler, and on the whole trip here she treated me and the others like good friends and not her subjects.”

Wadanohara nods. “Do you like her?”

...It’s not even something she’s bothering to hide anymore from anyone but Mirai. “Yeah.”

“Have you told her?”

“I can’t.” Ver sighs. “Because she’s the princess and I’m just some mercenary and we’ll probably never see each other after this. There’s no point.”

Wadanohara thinks about this for a moment or two, then says, “Ver, you know, I’m pretty important here, right?”

“Yeah, I know. You’re the most powerful witch in your kingdom and the daughter of the Great Sorcerer. After Princess Uomi you’re probably number two,” says Ver. “So?”

“The people I love, my familiars, Samekichi, they weren’t really considered that important when I met them, but they were important to me. And nobody is going to tell me I can’t love who I want to love, no matter where they come from.” Wadanohara grasps Ver’s hands tightly. “I think you should talk to her.”

Wadanohara is making far too much sense to Ver. “...Maybe…”

“Ver! Where’d you go?”

Wadanohara lets go of Ver’s hands. “Do what you want to do. I’ll be rooting for you, Ver.”

Ver smiles. “Thanks, Wadanohara. You’re a saint, really.”

Wadanohara shakes her head. “Just your friend.” She pushes Ver gently towards the door.

Mirai is waiting for her when Ver leaves. “Did you have fun?” Mirai asks.

“Yeah,” says Ver. “Lots of fun.”

“I’m glad, most of the time my guard’s really bored and serious whenever I go places. I wanted to bring someone who’d be happy to visit. And, you sounded so cool in your story,” Mirai adds.

Ver turns light pink. “...Thanks, but… It really wasn’t much, I mean, I was getting paid for it...”

“Doesn’t make it less cool.” Mirai’s smile brightens. “So, now that I’ve seen the castle, will you give me the rest of the tour?”

“Yeah- Wait, where’s Veil and everybody else?” Ver asks.

“Oh, Laurentia said she had to visit her sister, Vendetto’s going out to check out the bars, and Veil’s still talking politics, so it’s just you and me right now,” says Mirai casually.

Ver chokes, but manages to force out a shaky, “O-okay.”

From the corner of her eye, she sees Wadanohara give her a thumbs up.

* * *

Ver takes her around the whole village. There are people who she recognizes, a few of which come up to thank her for her part in protecting them during the invasion of the red sea. She tells them it’s nothing, and Mirai chuckles and tells her not to be so modest.

The last part of the area they check out is the winding path of the Sea of Stars. After a long walk, Mirai takes a seat on the ground, and Ver joins her.

“It’s beautiful down here,” Mirai says. “I’m glad I came.”

“Yeah… There shouldn’t be any other attacks on this place. If I’d known which sea it was I wouldn’t have taken that job,” says Ver.

“But then you wouldn’t have been around to help when they needed it,” says Mirai. “So it all worked out well in the end.”

“You think so?” Ver looks out into the peaceful ocean. “...I guess I am a little proud of keeping this sea around.” She smiles, reminiscing.

“You should be.” Mirai falls silent for a moment. “Hey, Ver?”

Ver turns. “Yeah?”

“When I said you were cute before… You’re even cuter when you’re happy like this.” Before Ver can do more than turn bright red, Mirai pecks her on the cheek. “I like you.”

Ver touches her cheek after Mirai pulls away, not able to look her in the eyes. “...I like you too, Mirai. I-I like you a lot.”

“When we go back home, would you mind if I came to visit you sometimes?” asks Mirai. Now that Ver’s looking for it, she can see a slight blush on her face.

“Yes- I mean, no, I wouldn’t mind!” Ver’s heart is pounding. “If you want to, that’s fine with me.”

“I’d like that.” Mirai slides a little closer to her, and for a while, they watch the ocean together.

* * *

“I win,” says Laurentia. “Pay up~”

Vendetto grumbles, digging into his pocket. “Was sure it’d take at least until the return trip.”


End file.
